Tag Archives: Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Rep. Allen West’s Washington Times Article – Counting Blessings Despite Election Bruises

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by Rep. Allen West – Thursday Nov. 22, 2012

This week, most Americans from sea to shining sea will gather for a special meal. Thanksgiving Day is when all of us, regardless of who we are or our origins, can take a moment to reflect on the bounty that is ours as citizens of these United States.

It is appropriate to take these moments of grateful reflection, even during moments of disappointment. Serving my constituents in the House of Representatives has been one of the highest honors of my life. I am thankful to have had that opportunity but disappointed it will not continue.

Since Election Day, my staff and supporters worked to uphold the integrity of America’s electoral system. We tried to make sure every vote was counted accurately and fairly. While many supporters urged me to continue to contest the results of the election, my legal team did not believe further action would affect the outcome.

As a result, this will be a particularly bittersweet celebration for my family, as I expect it might be for many families across the country.

There is much economic hardship in our nation, and depending on the decisions taken during the next few months, it may deepen before it improves. There is a gathering storm in the Middle East, with potentially serious implications for the security of our country, and particularly that of our closest ally, Israel.

Many Americans are losing confidence in the nation they knew as children. Based on the popular vote in this past presidential election, it would appear just over half of our fellow citizens have lost confidence in their own ability to improve their lot in life without the help of the federal government. Almost as many Americans have lost confidence in the federal government’s ability to solve any problem.

Nonetheless, we shall sit down together as a nation and give thanks for all that we do have. No matter how lavish or how meager our celebration, as Americans we are all still imbued with the same unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

America is still a country like no other on Earth. More than two centuries ago, our Founders created a nation where an individual’s station in life was not determined by birthright, but by his own efforts and dreams. Even citizenship was not a matter of heritage or place of birth. All that is required is a pledge to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.

It is this Constitution that forms the basis of our American exceptionalism. It is the framework that allows each of us to pursue our dreams, to succeed, to make mistakes, to overcome them and rise even higher.

During this past election cycle, we heard a lot about the “haves and have-nots” in society, the “1 percenters,” and the millionaires and billionaires — as if these were fixed classes that remain the same in numbers year after year, with no chance for those below to move above.

CONTINUE READING BY CLICKING HERE: WASHINGTON TIMES

Rep Allen West “Individual Sovereignty and Freedom to Succeed is not granted by Government Agencies”

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Congressman Allen West wrote the following messages on Facebook today

I would like to wish the constituents of Florida’s 22nd Congressional District as well as my fellow Americans a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

It is my deepest hope, that as the citizens of this great nation sit around their tables today, they will be thankful to be Americans, where individual sovereignty and freedom to succeed is not granted by government agencies or officials, cannot be taken away in the name of fairness, but is embedded in the Constitution, with liberty and justice for all.

May God bless you and your family, and may God bless the United States of America.

Grateful Reflection on Our Blessings - by Allen West on Thursday, November 22, 2012 at 9:18am

Today I, along with my wife Angela, and my daughters Aubrey and Austen, join Americans from sea to shining sea in gathering together for a special meal of Thanksgiving. Regardless of who we are or our origins, we will all take a moment to reflect on the bounty that is ours as citizens of these United States.

It is appropriate to take these moments of grateful reflection, even during moments of disappointment.  Serving my constituents in the House of Representatives has been one of the highest honors of my life, and I am deeply thankful to have had that opportunity.

As a result, this Thanksgiving will be a particularly bittersweet celebration for my family, as I expect it might be for many families across the country.

Nonetheless, we shall sit down together as a nation today and give thanks for all that we do have. No matter how lavish or how meager our celebration, as Americans we are all still imbued with the same unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and all of God’s blessings.

Rep Allen West – Op-Ed “The Balkanized States of America” Washington Times

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Op-Ed by Rep. Allen West

The 56 rebels knew they very well might be hanged for what they were about to do. As lawyers, merchants, farmers and landowners, they had plenty to lose. Fighting against an imperial ruler, they had everything to gain.

They were embarking on an adventure – not only because they were revolting against their own government and fighting outmanned and outgunned against a superior military – but because they were creating a radical approach to self-governance.

The 56 men who signed our Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, knew the only way they ever would be successful in their audacious plan was if they stood together. As Benjamin Franklin said at the signing, “if we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.”

Our founders shared a unified vision for our nation. They understood that unity of the many was necessary to uphold the sovereignty of the individual and the fundamental, unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

To ensure the sovereignty of each individual American, our Founding Fathers knew the country would have to be unified on certain principles and values: a limited constitutional government, a free market, a respect for “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” and a strong national defense.

Sadly, we are in danger of squandering the precious gift those 56 rebels gave us 236 years ago.

We have become a nation of “special interests” – but what interest can be more special than preserving the greatness of the United States of America and the freedoms of all its citizens?

We have politicians who would rather divide us based on income, gender or race than unite us as Americans. They want citizens to believe that “all men were created equal” really means “all men are entitled to an equal share.” They want their fellow Americans to believe anyone else’s economic success always comes at their own expense.

CONTINUE THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE: WASHINGTON TIMES

Rep Allen West “Happy Birthday to Our Constitutional Republic”

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(WASHINGTON)— Congressman Allen West (R-FL) released this statement today:

Happy Birthday to Our Constitutional Republic

Today we come together as Americans to celebrate the day on which we declared our independence from Great Britain. Fifty-six rebels came together 236 years ago in the heat of a Philadelphia summer to write a declaration the likes of which had never occurred in recorded history.

As lawyers, merchants, farmers and land owners, they had plenty to lose. But as revolutionaries, fighting against an imperial, despotic ruler, they had everything to gain. Their goal was to establish a new form of government which derived its power from the individual and not from the monarch. Our Founders shared a unified vision for our nation. They understood this unity of the many was necessary to uphold the sovereignty of the individual, and the fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Then, they took to the battlefield to secure this liberty. And since the founding of our nation, we have taken to the battlefield on numerous occasions to defend our freedoms and our way of life. Today we remember the men who laid down their lives at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and Yorktown to secure our freedom, and all service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice in all battles throughout our nation’s history to preserve our cherished freedoms.

Founding Father John Adams wrote his wife, Abigail, regarding the signing of the Declaration of Independence “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival… It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”

Today from sea to shining sea we will light up the skies with fireworks in a celebration of the longest enduring Constitutional Republic, and in remembrance of the men who mutually pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to create the United States of America.